Opryland Hotel opening in 2002 will be geared for meetings

KISSIMMEE -- The 1,400-room Opryland Hotel Florida will be the
largest hotel in this area when it opens in early 2002. The
developer is Opryland Lodging Group, affiliated with the Nashville,
Tenn.-based Gaylord Entertainment Co.

The hotel, which has broken ground, will be surrounded by
streets of cobblestone, with restaurants and shops reminiscent of
Old St. Augustine. A Key West-like area will have a wharf and a
60-foot sailboat with a seafood bar.

Rooms will have coffeemakers, safes, laptop recharging
capabilities, data ports, two phone lines, voice mail and irons and
ironing boards. Hotel services will include a business center, a
special VIP registration area and a full-service spa and fitness
center.

The hotel is at the intersection of Osceola Parkway and
International Boulevard South, 17 miles from the airport and an
easy drive from the Disney, Sea World and Universal parks.

The 65-acre property will encompass 188 suites, four acres of
gardens (under glass), three restaurants, several entertainment
venues and 380,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space.
The latter includes a 178,000-square-foot exhibit hall.

The Kissimmee project is intended to strengthen the Opryland
Hotel brand, Opryland Lodging Group officials said. The Opryland
Hotel in Nashville opened in 1977 with 600 rooms. It has grown to
2,884 rooms with 600,000 square feet of meeting, convention,
pre-function and exhibition space.

Opryland Lodging Group is building a 1,500-room Opryland Hotel
Texas in Grapevine, near Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, set to open in
2003.